"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
03/26/2018 at 12:00 • Filed to: not a saab, thunderbird, wrenching
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"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
03/26/2018 at 12:00 • Filed to: not a saab, thunderbird, wrenching | 1
| 7 |
This was my ol’ ’Bird. Now it’s back, with a braking issue.
A couple years ago, I decided that it was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and said goodbye to my T-bird, a 1996 V8 model, to make room for the ’Murlequin. I never did get around to introducing you guys to the ’Bird, but it’s new owner is none other than my own sister, which means that the car remains at least somewhat in my periphery. AMA if you want to know more about it.
She recently reported that despite making some repairs to the brake lines a year or so ago, the brake pedal once again went to the floor without so much as a drop on the pavement. But the reservoir was draining, so it had to be going somewhere...
So I had her pull all of the wheels off to inspect the lines, hoses, and calipers more closely. Everything was dry. She even unbolted the master cylinder to see if it was puking into the booster- nothing.
I went and took a look at it myself, and everything was indeed dry, until I got to the brake pressure control valve blocks tucked away between the headlamp and battery. There, I found a lot of peeling paint and rust. Oh man.
So that’s why they say not to get brake fluid on paint...
Turns out, this was a very small, slow leak, which snuck up on her as she admittedly hadn’t been keeping a close eye on the brake fluid level. It never accumulated enough to fall to the ground and leave puddles.
We re-bled all four corners to confirm the exact location of the leak, and none of the lines were burst. We didn’t even see it shooting out of either of the valve blocks. But a very slow gradual wetness appeared where the bottom of the blocks met the mounting bracket.
Sadly, these valve blocks are unobtainium now, available only in unknown condition from junkyards, as Ford no longer sells them. And if that wasn’t bad enough, trying to remove the old assembly resulted in two of the flare nuts twisting their respective lines during removal. Clearly, a good dousing of penetrating oil just wasn’t enough to get them to spin freely.
What a tweest!
I managed to get one of the blocks off of the bracket, and continued with disassembly. Near as I can figure, one or more of the internal seals must have worn out enough for fluid to leak past the piston and pop out the little rubber cap on the end of the plug. No way that little cap could have ever held back hydraulic pressure. This must be an “indicator leak”, not unlike a weep hole as you would find on a water pump that tells you when it’s time to replace it.
Luckily, the plugs face each other so closely that the caps never fell out the rest of the way. Before disassembly, the little black caps were touching. But here, I’ve re-assembled the right block, and the cap sits in a recess of the plug, where you can’t see it.
The good news is, these blocks (F6SC-2B091-AA) are pretty clean inside, and suitable for rebuilding. The bad news is, nobody seems to offer a rebuild kit for this model.
Easy rebuild... if you can find parts.
winterlegacy, here 'till the end
> Urambo Tauro
03/26/2018 at 12:53 |
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This is where it starts to get even more fun: you have a part that isn’t made anymore, so you need to find either a near drop-in replacement from another car, or find a similar analog for one of the internal pieces of that part that does the job for you.
Chariotoflove
> Urambo Tauro
03/26/2018 at 12:56 |
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I never owned that gen T-bird, but I drove one quite a bit, as it was my rental whenever I flew into Miami. I always enjoyed it.
Those things were everywhere. There have to be parts in good (enough) condition floating around. Good luck!
ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> Urambo Tauro
03/26/2018 at 13:20 |
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If all else fails, you might visit a hydraulic shop in your area and see if they can source parts. A bit of time with some calipers and the Hercules Hydraulics catalog might yeild soft parts that will work.
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Urambo Tauro
> Chariotoflove
03/26/2018 at 13:56 |
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I love these cars. They’re a little awkward to work on, but a dream to drive. A rare sight around here, sadly. I always turn my head when I spot one.
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Urambo Tauro
> winterlegacy, here 'till the end
03/26/2018 at 13:58 |
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Too bad a Mustang part won’t work. I can find those all day long. I wonder if a Mustang rebuild kit would have the right seals though...
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Urambo Tauro
> ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/26/2018 at 14:00 |
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That’s a possibility. I have a good assortment of O-rings, but they’re not rated for stuff like brake fluid. I’m sure it won’t take long to find the right ones, but I’m worried about that piston seal. That’s the tricky one.
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Chariotoflove
> Urambo Tauro
03/26/2018 at 14:17 |
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Sadly, the heyday of the affordable personal coupe is long behind us.